historical novel

From the publisher of Prussian Counterpoint

An unexpected invitation from wily King Frederick causes composer Joseph Haydn to fear he’s walking into a trap. After all, the Prussian King has never had any use for Haydn’s music. His Majesty seems more intrigued at Haydn’s being the son of a market-judge.Worse still, the invitation appears to stir up suspicion in the highest quarters in Vienna. So much so that a mysterious, cloaked lady visits Haydn’s Music Room and issues a thinly veiled threat.

Now Haydn is convinced there’s mischief afoot. But not even he can foresee that he will stumble upon the corpse of the imperial ambassador a day after his arrival in Frederick’s Prussia, along with evidence that His Lordship may have been a common thief.

Can Haydn salvage the imperial ambassador’s reputation—and find his killer?

My review

The author’s love of classical music and this era comes through clearly in Prussian Counterpoint. The entire book has an authentic feel—from the dialogue to the descriptions to the actions of the characters. The plot centers around the political intrigue surrounding Prussia, and the author portrays the uncertainty of the times well. At times, the mystery felt as though it took a back seat to the introduction of characters and the intrigue.

In a macro sense, the story is historically accurate. While the actual events portrayed in the story never took place, the overall situation involving Persia is accurate and the politics portrayed are also accurate. Accuracy is the both the strength and weakness of this story. The main point where this becomes obvious is in the references to characters in the narrative. For instance, in dialogue, it makes perfect sense for characters to use a noble’s title. However, in the narrative, the same titles quickly become cumbersome and confusing when several they are used in close proximity.

I enjoyed the story itself, but sometimes found myself bogged down in those pesky titles. I also enjoyed the fact that it basically took a team to bring together all the clues so Haydn could solve the crime.

From the publisher

Spy and code-breaker extraordinaire Maggie Hope returns to war-weary London, where she is thrust into the dangerous hunt for a monster, as the New York Times bestselling mystery series for fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Charles Todd, and Anne Perry continues.

England, 1942. The Nazis’ relentless Blitz may have paused, but London’s nightly blackouts continue. Now, under the cover of darkness, a madman is brutally killing and mutilating young women in eerie and exact re-creations of Jack the Ripper’s crimes. What’s more, he’s targeting women who are reporting for duty to be Winston Churchill’s spies and saboteurs abroad. The officers at MI-5 quickly realize they need the help of special agent Maggie Hope to find the killer dubbed “the Blackout Beast.” A trap is set. But once the murderer has his sights on Maggie, not even Buckingham Palace can protect the resourceful spy from her fate.

My Review of The Queen’s Accomplice

“The Queen’s Accomplice” is more of a traditional mystery than a spy novel. It also takes on the issue of women’s rights in a very direct manner. The lines are drawn on both sides of the issue, with Maggie in favor of making improvements and her superiors opposed.

The murders committed by the Blackout Beast are grisly in nature. There are no stomach-churning descriptions, but the subject is most definitely a grisly one.

The dialogue is clean and natural for the time. The setting, war-torn London, remains a fascinating time and place. Two subplots in the story may foreshadow what is to come.

This installment has taken a turn away from what originally distinguished the series. This installment is not a code-breaker turned spy story, it sits squarely in the realm of the traditional mystery. That’s not to say change is bad, it’s simply different. And those subplots just may return us to this series’ roots.

Autumn, 1565: When an actor’s daughter is murdered on the banks of Kyoto’s Kamo River, master ninja Hiro Hattori and Portuguese Jesuit Father Mateo are the victim’s only hope for justice.

As political tensions rise in the wake of the shogun’s recent death, and rival warlords threaten war, the Kyoto police forbid an investigation of the killing, to keep the peace–but Hiro has a personal connection to the girl, and must avenge her. The secret investigation leads Hiro and Father Mateo deep into the exclusive world of Kyoto’s theater guilds, where they quickly learn that nothing, and no one, is as it seems. With only a mysterious golden coin to guide them, the investigators uncover a forbidden love affair, a missing mask, and a dangerous link to corruption within the Kyoto police department that leaves Hiro and Father Mateo running for their lives.

Review:

The Ninja’s Daughter is Susan Spann’s fourth Shinobi Mystery. The series gives readers insight into a society that is long gone. A fascinating read, “The Ninja’s Daughter” is filled with lies, deceit, and the inherent unfairness of a class society. Spann portrays well a society in which only some murders are considered worthy of investigation.

Hiro and Jesuit Father Mateo are dogged pursuers who must unravel a puzzle that will keep readers guessing until the end. Interactions between the two main characters allow Spann to let the characters explain the societal mores rather than having to do so herself.

The political instability of the time builds an atmosphere of tension, which escalates as the lives of the protagonists become endangered. Spann sets up a ticking clock in the beginning of the novel, which she uses well to propel the story to a conclusion that itself illustrates the importance of honor in 16th Century Japan.

FTC Full Disclosure: A review copy of this book was provided by its publisher.

Last week, Putnam released “Jane Steele” by Lindsay Faye. As part of the launch, Putnam also sent out “A Conversation with Lindsay Faye About Jane Steele.” Here is an excerpt, which gives insight into Faye’s fifth novel and may serve as inspiration for writers who want to try something quite different.

Q. What inspired the idea for this novel, and gave you the confidence you could pull it off? After all, Jane Eyre as a serial killer is a pretty outrageous concept, and it re-imagines one of the most beloved and famous novels of all time?

A. Unwarranted hubris? I’m kidding. It’s absolutely outrageous, and I think that the outrageousness of the concept was freeing. It’s a ridiculous notion to conceive of Jane Eyre as Dexter. So I was enabled by that rather than hampered, if that makes sense? She wants to get rid of truly evil people, and there’s something satisfying about the notion of a female protagonist accomplishing what “Darkly Dreaming Dexter” did. I don’t ever condone murder, of course. But I will point out that Charlotte Bronte actually lived at that horrible school she describes in Jane Eyre, and two of her sisters later died after having been terribly weakened by lack of care at the Cowan Bridge facility. What ought to be outrageous is that any such thing was ever allowed to happen in the first place—children were fairly routinely abused in the 19th Century at such boarding schools, like the one equally vividly brought to life in “Nicholas Nickelby” by Charles Dickens.

Additionally, this novel is unabashedly also a satire. I call it a satirical romance, but I don’t even know if that’s a real thing, though I hope so! And I wasn’t worried about people who love “Jane Eyre” being offended because I already love “Jane Eyre” so much it oozes out of my pores. The entire undertaking came from a place of deep affection and respect for the original material. It’s very tongue in cheek.

There was much more to the “Conversation,” but this answer gave some great insight into the story behind the story of “Jane Steele.”